Shūkatsu and Japanese Work-Ethic

Every year, it is familiar to see fresh graduates rearing to start a new phase in their lives. This is leaving their comfort zones (home/school) and starts facing the real world. Fresh graduates in their best suits going around and attending job interviews or training sessions from one place to another. In Japan, they have a unique approach to looking for a job or job hunting as we say. It is also called shūkatsu (short for shusoku meaning “looking for employment” and katsudo meaning “activities,” which gives us the full word as shūkatsu). Around mid-late March or early April is usually the time when companies open their doors to new recruits, so it is kind of stressful, so to speak, for these young hopefuls coming out from their university life for the first time and seeking for jobs.

Job hunting starts when students are on their 3rd year in college and they started applying to as many as 100 companies. Well, not all of these companies would accept them, at least some will, and they will schedule them for interviews. Most students have applied for jobs prior to their graduation in high school or university. They seek employment wherein the companies would give them added credits to their academic subjects or they will be paid. Their purpose of doing this is to prepare these undergraduates to the world of reality. Hopefully it would lead to formal employment offer or experience before they face the real world.

Conducting Job Hunting

Job hunting is really not easy especially for wannabees and international students. However, different organizations are giving full support thru website that will help them understand and guide them. One example is: https://www.jasso.go.jp/ryugaku/study_j/job/ that gives them the opportunity to browse the links intended for search. International students use this homepage as their guide.

Now, once they land a job, what is next? What is a typical Japanese workplace culture? First and foremost, they have to get the feel of what their job description is. Indirect communication is common in Japanese culture.

Being a foreigner in the workplace is not easy because you don’t know what’s in their mind or how can you explain yourself. Be very conscious of the culture. They are more conservative or serious when it comes to workplace.

Dapat na matuto kang mag-adapt sa iyong working environment kung gusto mo mag-succeed. Ilan sa mga pointers para sa mga foreigner na nais na magtrabaho sa Japanese companies:

1. Directly reconfirm anything you are asked. Bago ka mag-submit ng work order o yung in-assigned na trabaho para sa’yo, make sure na ire-reconfirm mo muna sa boss mo. Hindi lahat ng Japanese bosses ay nagbibigay ng specific order, o ibig sabihin, ipapaliwanag pa ng mabuti sa’yo. Ikaw na mismo sa sarili mo ang gagawa ng paraan upang ikumpirma sa iyong superior kung yun nga ba ang kanilang ine-expect na trabaho na dapat mong gawin. Madali lang naman yan. Magtanong mabuti at ikumpirma bago i-submit ang isang proyekto.
2. Ask for forgiveness, not permission. Karamihan sa Japanese companies ay may kani-kaniyang sistema ng pag-a-approve ng isang project na naiatas sa kanilang empleyado. Kapag ikaw ay naatasan na gawin ang isang trabaho, gawin mo muna ito at bago mo i-submit for approval, ipakita sa boss mo kung ano ang kanilang opinyon. Kung may kaunting pagkakamali, hayaan ang boss ang magtama ng mali at humingi ng dispensa at saka i-correct ang ginawa. Sa ganitong paraan ay maipapakita mo ang salitang respeto sa iyong superior.
3. Learn the language, or at least the non-verbal cues. Ang language barrier ang laging problema para sa mga international students na nagnanais na magtrabaho sa Japan. Kung gusto mong maka-adapt sa sistema ng Japan, ang una mong pag-aralan ay ang kanilang lengguwahe. Ito ang tamang solusyon upang maging madali sa iyo ang makahanap ng trabaho. Kadalasan, hinahanap ng mga kumpanya ay yaong bilingual.

Japanese work spaces

We know Japanese are very organized and coordinated. In a typical Japanese company, open plan desks are very typical sight. Workspaces of coworkers are arranged together in teams. Ang mga table nila ay halos magkaka-dikit para yung communication ay mas madali. Bawat team has their leader na responsible sa pag-a-outline ng trabaho para sa araw na yun. Every day, there are two meetings before they start working. One with the group leader, and the other one, a general meeting with the senior staff members.

Unlike in Western countries where offices are often quiet, in Japan, since their desks are so close to each other, you cannot avoid loud noises. Management would want an environment like that because for them, cooperation at work is very important.

Another advice for foreign workers, especially if you do not smoke: Japanese offices allow smoking inside the building. It is legal to smoke in their work places (maliban sa mga hospital), so before accepting a job and you have a medical condition, ask the company about their company’s smoking policy before proceeding to avoid uncomfortable circumstances in the future.

Management Style

Good quality of management, ang maipagmamalaki ng Japanese companies. Ito ay base sa kanilang pinangangalagaang prinsipyo nang pagkakaroon ng coordination at group harmony. Ito ay tinatawag na “Wa.” Sa group meeting na ginagawa nila bago mag-umpisa ng trabaho, ibibigay lahat ng kani-kanilang superiors ang lahat ng information instead of giving their employees endless orders. Kumabaga, isang beses lang. Kaya kung may questions, sa meeting mo dapat itanong para maging smooth flowing ang trabaho. Ito ang tinatawag na unity building o nemawashi. Group discussion is very important to avoid being singled out in an embarrassing situation. This is one good principle that Japanese companies are holding until now and gives moral boost to their employees.